Agnello alla Sarda

Editor's note: The recipe and introductory text below are excerpted from Giuliano Bugialli's book Foods of Sicily & Sardinia. We've also added some helpful tips of our own, which appear at the bottom of the page.

Preparation

Soak the artichokes in a bowl of cold water with the lemon, cut in half and squeezed, for 1/2 hour. Clean the artichokes (see Note, below) and cut them into eighths. Let the artichokes rest in the acidulated water until needed.

Coarsely chop parsley and finely chop garlic on a board. Heat the oil in a medium-sized casserole over medium heat. When the oil is warm, add half of the parsley and half of the garlic and sauté for 2 minutes. Add the meat and sauté over higher heat for 5 minutes, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon. Add the wine and season with salt and pepper. Lower the heat, cover casserole and cook for about 30 minutes, adding some broth as needed. By that time the lamb should be almost cooked.

Drain artichokes and add them to the casserole, over the lamb, without mixing. Sprinkle with a little salt and pepper. Cover again and cook for 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, bring to a boil 1 cup of cold water, add the saffron and be sure the saffron is completely dissolved. Mix the lamb and artichokes, add the water with the saffron, cover again and cook until the artichokes are almost completely cooked, about 10 minutes.

Use a slotted spoon to transfer lamb and artichokes to a serving dish. Cover dish to keep food warm. Reduce the sauce in the casserole to a quite thick consistency. If a lot of fat has risen to the top, remove it. Return meat and artichokes to the casserole, add the remaining parsley and garlic and mix very well. Transfer contents of casserole to a large serving platter and serve hot.

NOTE: To clean artichokes, trim off all of the darker outer ring of the stem. The inner core is the best part because it has the real taste of the artichoke. Remove as many rows of the outer leaves as necessary to arrive at those tender inner rows where you can clearly see the separation between the green at the top and the light yellow at the bottom. Then remove the top green part. Press your thumb on the bottom of each leaf, the white part, to hold it in place, and with the other hand, tear off the top green part. As each new row is uncovered the tender yellow part of the leaves will be bigger.

When you reach the rows in which only the very tips of the leaves are green, cut off all the tips together with a knife.

It is best to cut the artichoke into quarters lengthwise, in order to remove the choke. Draw the tip of the knife blade across just below the choke to draw it out.

Outside of Italy I find the larger artichokes produce a result closer to the Italian ones.